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KeyserXSoze King of Otters
Great Old One Joined: 02 Jun 2002 Total posts: 1040 Gender: Unknown |
 Posted: 30-04-2005 19:29 Post subject: |
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Archaeologists find door 'to the thereafter'Source | Quote: | Cairo - The discovery outside the Egyptian capital of a particularly well-preserved mummy from the 30th Dynasty was announced on Friday by Egyptian government archaeologists.
Zahi Hawwas, head of the antiquities preservation team, said the find was made in Saccara, where a sarcophagus was discovered beneath a layer of sand. Although numerous ceramic amulets were found at the site, they presented no immediate clue to the identity of the deceased.
In addition to the mummy from a dynasty that ruled between 380-343 AD, two burial gates were discovered, one in honour of Iu-Ib, an official in a temple dedicated to Pepi II, who ruled from 2245-2180.
The other marker, also formed in the shape of a door intended to connect the present to the thereafter, was for a scribe by the name of Chentika. - Sapa-dpa
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| WhistlingJack Joined: 29 Oct 2003 Total posts: 4298 Location: The Sewers of The Strand Age: 9 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 22-06-2006 17:34 Post subject: Lummee! Dummy Mummies!! |
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| Quote: | Massive mummy fraud discovered after 2,000 years
Maev Kennedy
Wednesday June 21, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Modern medical science has exposed the villainy of the crocodile mummy sellers of Hawara, more than 2,000 years after they defied the edict of a Pharaoh and turned neatly bandaged bundles of rubbish into a nice little earner.
Before the reopening this month of the Egyptian Galleries at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, curators took their animal and human mummies to the city's Addenbrooke's Hospital, as part of a £1.5m re-display of the internationally renowned collection, which dates in part back to the founding of the museum in 1816.
Analysis continues after the mummies were run through a CT scanner and other tests, but the preliminary results are startling. The two baby crocodile shaped mummies were originally sold to worshippers at the temple at Hawara, to be buried in ritual pits as an offering to the god Sobek. There was clearly a history of problems with the animal sellers: a pharaonic decree a century earlier had ordered that each mummy should contain the body of one animal.
The museum's kitten mummy did indeed hold a very small cat, and there was a sacred ibis within the spectacularly elaborate wrappings of another. The crocodiles however were spectacularly lacking in crocodile: one held a minute vertebra, the other a handful of straw, rags and mud without a scrap of any animal content at all.
The museum's single human mummy, collected by Flinders Petrie in the early 20th century, is exceptional. It comes from the Fayum, where the cultures of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt met, producing Egyptian-style mummies, sometimes with inscriptions in Greek, decorated with hauntingly beautiful portraits painted in encaustic wax.
Archaeologists have argued since their discovery about whether the images of men, women and children were idealised types or true portraits. Although a reconstruction of the head of one woman for the British Museum showed a close resemblance to her portrait, the Cambridge tests reveal a sadder truth.
The Fitzwilliam's mummy has the image of a dazzlingly handsome young bearded man, with a wreath of gold leaves in his dark curly hair. The tests show the body inside is a disaster, his back and neck broken after death, head crushed onto the chest, and apparently left so long before mummification that only the skin on the inside thighs remains. Work continues to try to establish his age, what killed him - and how wide the gulf was between the real man and the beautiful image.
The Egyptian Galleries at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, open free every day except Monday. www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 28-01-2009 16:01 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Lost "Sleeping Beauty" Mummy Formula Found
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090126-sicily-mummy.html
January 26, 2009--She's one of the world's best-preserved bodies: Rosalia Lombardo, a two-year-old Sicilian girl who died of pneumonia in 1920. "Sleeping Beauty," as she's known, appears to be merely dozing beneath the glass front of her coffin in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Italy.
Now an Italian biological anthropologist, Dario Piombino-Mascali of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, has discovered the secret formula that preserved Rosalia's body so well. (Piombino-Mascali is funded by the National Geographic Society's Expeditions Council. National Geographic News is owned by the National Geographic Society.)
Piombino-Mascali tracked down living relatives of Alfredo Salafia, a Sicilian taxidermist and embalmer who died in 1933. A search of Salafia's papers revealed a handwritten memoir in which he recorded the chemicals he injected into Rosalia's body: formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin.
Formalin, now widely used by embalmers, is a mixture of formaldehyde and water that kills bacteria. Salafia was one of the first to use this for embalming bodies. Alcohol, along with the arid conditions in the catacombs, would have dried Rosalia's body and allowed it to mummify. Glycerin would have kept her body from drying out too much, and salicylic acid would have prevented the growth of fungi.
But it was the zinc salts, according to Melissa Johnson Williams, executive director of the American Society of Embalmers, that were most responsible for Rosalia's amazing state of preservation. Zinc, which is no longer used by embalmers in the United States, petrified Rosalia's body.
"[Zinc] gave her rigidity," Williams said. "You could take her out of the casket prop her up, and she would stand by herself."
Piombino-Mascali calls the self-taught Salafia an artist: "He elevated embalming to its highest level."
Learn more about Rosalia in National Geographic magazine's Sicily Crypts
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/02/sicily-crypts/gill-text
and on the National Geographic Channel documentary "Italy's Mystery Mummies." http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3827/Overview
—Karen Lange
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 22-10-2009 14:52 Post subject: Mummy's tooth yields DNA |
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Yipppeee! We'll be able to clone him/her.
| Quote: | Mummy's tooth yields DNA
http://www.physorg.com/news175417317.html
October 22nd, 2009 in Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
A mummy in the British Museum. Image: Wikimedia Commons
(PhysOrg.com) -- A four thousand year old Egyptian mummy's tooth has yielded its DNA to probing scientists.
A team of doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital and scientists from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts first tried unsuccessfully to extract genetic material from a piece of neck skin and a finger, recovered from the mummy's tomb in Deir el-Bersha near Cairo. They next tried to obtain DNA from the pulp of a tooth, and after a delicate three-hour operation successfully extracted the tooth and obtained the genetic material.
Dr. Paul Chapman, a neurosurgeon from the Massachusetts General Hospital, who was part of the operating team, was concerned not to disturb the fragile head because of its importance as an artifact. Simply yanking the tooth was not possible, so the doctors approached it via the open neck, inserting a scope fitted with a camera. The first tooth they tried could not be moved, but the second yielded after patient work without damage to the rest of the head.
The tomb, belonging to Governor and Lady Djehutynakht, rulers of the Hermopolis district around 186 miles from Cairo, was first excavated in 1915. Dating from around 2000 BC, the tomb had been disturbed, but the disembodied head, a torso, examples of Egyptian art, other artifacts and scattered mummy wrappings remained.
The DNA should enable the scientists to identify the ancient Egyptian owner's gender, and perhaps learn about its ancestry. The genetic material was deemed so precious that one of the hospital team, Dr. Fabio Nunes, drove the tooth to the New York medical examiner's office himself. The medical examiner's office which was chosen to do the analysis because of its experience with degraded DNA.
Rita E. Freed, from the Museum of Fine Arts, said the 19th century saw the unwrapping of mummies, and the 20th saw the ability to X-ray mummies develop. Now scientists realize you can also examine them for genetic material.
The mummy's head and other artifacts are currently on show at The Secrets of Tomb 10: Egypt 2000 BC in the Museum of Fine Arts, which gives visitors an insight into the lives of people in Deir el-Bersha between 2040 to 1640 BC, during the 11th and 12th dynasty. |
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| Otto_Maddox Banned
Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Total posts: 95 Age: 4 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 22-10-2009 14:55 Post subject: |
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Last edited by Otto_Maddox on 26-10-2009 23:45; edited 1 time in total |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 22-10-2009 15:02 Post subject: |
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| Otto_Maddox wrote: | | what is this modern obsession with dna? so what and who cares? does it prove he is a mummy? |
It might prove hes a daddy. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 22-10-2009 20:59 Post subject: |
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| ramonmercado wrote: | | Otto_Maddox wrote: | | what is this modern obsession with dna? so what and who cares? does it prove he is a mummy? |
It might prove hes a daddy. |
Yep, if he's 4,000 years old he could be the great-g-g-g...g-grand-daddy of us all!  |
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| Mythopoeika Boring petty conservative
Joined: 18 Sep 2001 Total posts: 9109 Location: Not far from Bedford Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 22-10-2009 23:02 Post subject: |
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My Mum's just had a tooth removed. I'm sure that's got DNA in it as well.
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| Xanatic_ Great Old One Joined: 08 Aug 2009 Total posts: 347 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 23-10-2009 00:11 Post subject: |
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| I wonder if the mummy´s curse still applies if they are brought back to life with cloning. |
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| Otto_Maddox Banned
Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Total posts: 95 Age: 4 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 23-10-2009 10:44 Post subject: |
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Last edited by Otto_Maddox on 26-10-2009 23:48; edited 1 time in total |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 23-10-2009 11:01 Post subject: |
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| Otto_Maddox wrote: | | what is this modern obsession with dna? so what and who cares? |
You don't, obviously.
But there's loads on info out there on the web about DNA, and thousands of people research it, as it affects all our lives, from conception to putrefaction.
It can identify people, family and racial relationships, diseases, etc, etc.
If you really want to know more (and I suspect you don't) you could start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-04-2010 14:42 Post subject: Nanostructure of 5,000-year-old mummy skin reveals insight |
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| Quote: | Nanostructure of 5,000-year-old mummy skin reveals insight into mummification process
http://www.physorg.com/news190967981.html
April 20th, 2010 in Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Research on the Iceman glacier mummy has revealed insight into how, on a molecular level, the mummification process can preserve human skin for long periods of time. Image copyright: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/EURAC.
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using cutting-edge microscopy techniques, researchers have gained insight into how human mummies can be extremely well-preserved for thousands of years. A team of scientists from Germany and Italy has investigated skin samples from Europe's oldest natural mummy, the 5,300-year-old "Iceman" who was buried in a glacier shortly after death in the Otzal Alps between Italy and Austria. The researchers found that the underlying structure of the mummy's skin is largely unaltered compared with the skin of a modern living human, likely maintaining its protective function due to dehydration.
When the Iceman was discovered by tourists in 1991, the well-preserved body was first thought to be a modern corpse. After scientists realized that the body was that of a 45-year-old man (possibly a shepherd) living in the Copper Age, continued research has revealed a wealth of information on Neolithic culture in the region. Although the Iceman could have died from a number of causes, examinations have suggested that he was killed by an arrowhead that entered his body under the left shoulder blade and caused severe internal bleeding. He also had stab trauma on his right hand and a bruise at the head that possibly resulted from a blow to the head.
Since the Iceman’s discovery, investigations using optical and scanning electron microscopes have revealed that, while the epidermis (outer layer of skin) is missing, the remaining mummified skin collagen is extremely durable. However, the underlying reason for the durability is largely unclear. In the current study, the researchers have investigated three skin samples from the Iceman using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy to try to understand how the mummified skin is so well-preserved. These techniques allowed the scientists to investigate the skin collagen’s nanostructure and molecular structure.
In their investigations, the researchers discovered that the mummy’s skin and recent skin samples were very similar. Among their findings was that both samples featured the nanoscale periodic banding patterns that are characteristic of collagen fibrils. Also, the Raman spectroscopy analysis showed that the ancient and recent skin spectra were very similar, indicating that the molecular structure of the mummy’s skin was largely unchanged.
However, by conducting AFM nanoindentation experiments, the researchers found that the mummified skin had a slightly higher Young’s modulus, meaning that it was slightly less elastic and stiffer than recent skin. As the researchers explain, the most probable cause of this increased stability of the mummified collagen is dehydration by freeze-drying. Dehydration may have resulted in more densely packed fibril structures, leading to the creation of additional cross-links between the subfibrils. In this way, the dehydrated skin could maintain its protective function and continue to prevent tissue decomposition.
“The most important finding of our study is that the type I collagen in the mummified skin of the Iceman retained its structure and thus maintained its protective function (against external influences, such as UV- irradiation, freeze-thaw damage, or microbiological degradation) enabling continuous tissue preservation for 5300 years,” Marek Janko, coauthor from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich and the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC), told PhysOrg.com. “But it also covers important aspects of collagen structure and mechanical property analysis and gives important insight into mechanistic details about the mummification process, extending earlier work by Schweitzer, Lingham-Soliar, Williams, Hess and others.”
Overall, the researchers’ findings support the theory that the Iceman was covered by snow and ice immediately after his death, and - other than for a few thawing and refreezing cycles - likely remained frozen for the majority of the time until his discovery. The results could also have implications in different areas, as Robert Stark, coauthor from LMU Munich, explained.
“Often, mummies are an invaluable cultural heritage because they tell us a lot about life and death in former times,” said Stark. “There are various ways to mummify a corpse. Examples include the procedures used by the old Egyptians, the methods used to conserve Rosalia Lombardo (considered one of the most beautiful mummies) or the Iceman.”
“Last but not least,” Janko added, “our finding that the dehydration of the collagen may cause an increase in the collagen fibril elasticity can have suitable applications in surgery where collagen tissues with desired mechanical properties are needed.”
More information: Marek Janko, et al. “Nanostructure and mechanics of mummified type I collagen from the 5300-year-old Tyrolean Iceman.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0377 |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 30-08-2010 09:40 Post subject: |
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Body of missing hiker found after 21 years
The body of an American mountain climber missing for 21 years has been discovered in Canada’s Rocky Mountains.
Published: 11:48PM BST 29 Aug 2010
Two hikers discovered the body of William Holland, an American from the US state of Maine, around two weeks ago, according to Canadian media. He disappeared in 1989 in Banff National Park.
Holland’s body and mountaineering equipment were reportedly preserved by the freezing conditions at the site and when the ice melted there this summer, his corpse was revealed.
Holland, who was 38 when he disappeared, was climbing Snow Down mountain when he fell some 300 meters. His climbing partners quickly alerted emergency services, but the search was called off the following day because of an avalanche.
The route he was climbing is known as a dangerous path and a number of people have died near the same spot.
“By the time we got there the body was fully exposed. We didn’t have to chip the body out at all,” Parks Canada rescue specialist Garth Lemke told CBC news. “He was generally skin and bones, having quite a mummified look to him. His clothes and gear were relatively intact, and if you look at where he was, he was basically in a deep freeze for the last 21 years.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/7971140/Body-of-missing-hiker-found-after-21-years.html |
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| Kondoru Unfeathered Biped Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Total posts: 5788 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 30-08-2010 11:00 Post subject: |
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| And, um, what does this reveal about climbing gear of 21 years ago? |
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| Mythopoeika Boring petty conservative
Joined: 18 Sep 2001 Total posts: 9109 Location: Not far from Bedford Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 30-08-2010 17:15 Post subject: |
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| Kondoru wrote: | | And, um, what does this reveal about climbing gear of 21 years ago? |
Nothing? |
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